Doctor Jonas Grantham is in want of a wife. A very practical man, Dr Grantham knows that this is by far the most convenient way to have regular sex without risking an STD, and he soon decides that the eleventh prettiest girl in Leicester would do quite nicely.
Unfortunately for Dr Grantham, Miss Lydia Charingford recognises him as the young doctor who was present a few years’ prior when his mentor pronounced her pregnant and ruined forever, and this coupled with Dr Grantham’s boorish attempt at introducing himself to her makes her quite sure that he thinks her a young woman of very low morals.
Finding his every approach rebuffed, Dr Grantham soon resorts to a wager which requires Miss Charingford to accompany him on several housecalls, with the winner receiving either a kiss (in the case of the Dr) or being left alone (Lydia). But as they spend more time together, Lydia soon realises that there’s far more to Dr Grantham than she initially thought, and finds herself reluctantly falling in love.
While not quite as fantastic as Lord of Scoundrels (I really lucked out with that one being my first romance), I really enjoyed A Kiss for Midwinter and can see why Courtney Milan is one of the more popular authors working in the genre. Her characters were handled well, with their attitudes and mindsets being progressive enough to be palatable to modern readers without going too far and sounding like they had been dropped into the wrong time period, and their chemistry felt genuine. The obstacles thrown into the path of true love were plausible, and I almost awww’ed out loud at least once.
A Kiss for Midwinter was an incredibly pleasant read (it was devoured in one sitting – it was perfect brain balm after a stressful week), and I expect I’ll be encountering Courtney Milan again soon.